Ramaphosa to Address Nation Monday Evening After Court Revives Impeachment Process Over Phala Phala

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address South Africa at 8 p.m. Monday, the Presidency said, days after the Constitutional Court revived the parliamentary Section 89 process linked to the Phala Phala matter.

The announcement makes the evening address significant less for any policy message than for its timing: it comes after the country’s highest court overturned the National Assembly’s 2022 decision that had stopped impeachment proceedings from moving forward.

In a notice issued Monday, the Presidency said: “President Cyril Ramaphosa will tonight at 20h00, address the nation following the judgment of the Constitutional Court in the case brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters challenging the National Assembly’s decision with respect to Section 89 proceedings against the President.”

The address is to be delivered from the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The South African Broadcasting Corporation will provide a feed to media, while PresidencyZA will livestream the address on its digital platforms.

The court’s ruling was handed down on May 8 in Economic Freedom Fighters and Another v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others (CCT 35/24). The Constitutional Court held, among other things, that Rule 129I of the National Assembly’s rules is constitutionally defective. It also set aside the Assembly’s Dec. 13, 2022, vote that halted the process and ordered that the Section 89 Independent Panel report be referred to an impeachment committee.

That judgment did not remove Ramaphosa from office. Instead, it reopened a parliamentary process under Section 89 of South Africa’s Constitution, which allows the National Assembly to remove a president for a serious violation of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct, or inability to perform the functions of office. Removal requires a two-thirds majority in the Assembly.

The case centers on the Assembly’s handling of the Section 89 Independent Panel report published in November 2022. That panel found that the information before it prima facie indicated Ramaphosa may have committed serious violations or misconduct and recommended further investigation. Parliament later voted not to proceed, but that decision has now been set aside by the Constitutional Court.

National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza has since announced steps to implement the ruling and to constitute an impeachment committee under the Assembly’s rules.

Soon after Friday’s judgment, the Presidency said Ramaphosa accepted the outcome. “President Cyril Ramaphosa respects the Constitutional Court’s judgment and reaffirms his commitment to the Constitution, the independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law,” it said in a statement on May 8.

Monday night’s address is therefore the president’s first scheduled public response to a ruling that has put the Phala Phala-related Section 89 process back before Parliament.